


Instruments and crushes (high school oneshot)

by Fluoradine



Category: X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Orchestra, Crushes, M/M, band au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-03 22:27:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2890265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluoradine/pseuds/Fluoradine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by this prompt: I’m in orchestra you’re in band this is a scandalous romeo and juliet au</p><p>Charles is in orchestra and has a crush on Erik, who happens to be in band.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Instruments and crushes (high school oneshot)

At the school my grandfather founded, there are two rules when it comes to orchestra and band classes. 1, you use every chance as a competition. I'm sure it was never meant to end up like that, but band and orchestra have more or less become the mortal enemies of this school. When I joined orchestra back in freshman year, I had no idea how intense concerts would be. And 2, no matter how tempting, you must never look into the other room.   
My grandfather Francis Xavier must have known that we would all be bat-shit crazy about being better than the other, because he decided to put the band room and orchestra room in a hallway across from each other. And he must have known that Professor McCoy and Professor MacTaggart would put the clarinets and violas in the spot where they could see each other through the glass window. And he must have known that me, Charles Xavier, would be a viola, and would notice the presence of the clarinetist Erik.   
"Quit staring, Charles." Raven tapped my shoulder. It was Tuesday, third period. I was sitting in orchestra yet again. This room was always super hot for no reason whatsoever.   
"Sorry." I said, turning back to my music. Okay, about the band guy. Ever since last year I got moved to the seat next to the wall, particularly the glass window. And I never noticed it before, but there's this really hot guy who sits at the window in band and plays clarinet. I've heard his friends call him Erik outside of class. I've given up saying its a stupid crush, I know it is. Raven knows too. She's been my stand partner since freshman year. She can be really annoying sometimes, but she's a good friend. Also really good at viola. And a fellow mutant.   
That's the thing about me and Raven that others find weird. We're mutants. I probably should have mentioned this before, but not everyone in this school is 100% human. I myself, am a telepath. The skill isn't really used much in my daily life, because that'd end up horribly, but sometimes if I need to have a private conversation with Raven I'll use it. She used to hate the feeling back when we first became friends, but then again, so did I. Raven is a shapeshifter. It's only me who's seen her actual form, which is much different than her regular blonde look. There aren't a lot of visible mutant in the school, except Professor McCoy, the band teacher. He has blue fur all over him. As well as Kurt, the sophomore. But who knows, there might be others out there that we can't see.   
Professor MacTaggart is a tall, lean woman who's always on my case. She teaches orchestra, but really favours the violins. She encourages them to be louder, still I can barely hear myself play over them. Meh. "Are we good? Okay, Symphonié. Violins, be louder. Cellos, get that low C at the end of bar 15. Violas, keep a steady rhythm bars 13 to 17. Bass, pizzicato bar 26. Okay, and..."   
We all start playing, but I can wait a couple bars. Violas never play much. So, I keep looking at Erik in the other room. He always wears this brown jacket that looks quite uncomfortable. And his hair is messy. He's talking with his friends in the other room. I look away to check the bar and see his friend's eyes slowly shift over to me. Did they notice?   
"Charles!"   
Raven is whispering to me to get ready. I must have been caught up in noticing him. It's bar 4 already. Professor MacTaggart motions and I start playing.   
We go through the piece without trouble, and in the middle we get a four-bar rest again. The band still isn't playing yet, but a bunch of Erik's friends are looking this way. Immediately I get nervous. Can they read minds too? A blonde girl nudges his shoulder and motions to the room. I turn my head so that he doesn't look at me. That'd be so embarrassing.   
At the end of the four bars, I pick up my bow onto the string. I'm going to show him that I am really good at viola. Professor MacTaggart looks this way, and I play an Open D. But I could have sworn I played an F Sharp...I try to make a C Sharp but instead get a B Flat. Every note I play is being replaced with a different one.   
Professor MacTaggart stops everyone. "Charles, what are you doing?"   
I put my bow on the stand. I must be so red. "Nothing, I swear, I don't know what was happening."   
From the cello section, Alex laughs. I hear a plucking sound. My viola is playing itself, making its own notes. Then I hear shrieking laughter from the band room. I turn my head to see Erik and his friends laughing uncontrollably at me. Then, to my horror, Erik locks eyes with me. He wiggles his fingers and the viola plays again. He must be a mutant as well....  
"Stop that, please." MacTaggart says. I slam my hand down on the fingerboard and it stops.   
The laughter fades. I shoot the blonde girl a look and she giggles.   
"Raven?" I whisper as Professor MacTaggart tells the cellos that they need to really get that low C.   
"Yea?" She's re-rosining her bow.   
"I think there's a mutant in the band room."   
Raven's face stiffens. She stares at me to say "What, your guy crush?"  
I nod. I never noticed it before, but the guy I've been crushing on must be telekinetic. I knew I wasn't the only invisible mutant here.   
The band starts playing their song and we can all hear them. Erik the mutant is still laughing with his blonde friend. I frown.   
"Raven, I'm going to make a move."   
She squints at me. "You're in the middle of class, Charles. You can't ask your crush out in class. Plus, he's in band."   
"So?"  
She shrugs. "I dunno, wouldn't that be like Romeo and Juliet?"   
"Well, hopefully no one dies in it."   
Raven rolls her eyes at me. "Well, if you insist on being a traitor, how are you going to do it?"   
I press my fingers to my temples and stare at her. "Like this." I transfer my thought to her. She hears it, and rolls her eyes again.   
With that worked out, I turn to the window and look at Erik through the glass. He really looks nice, and I'm not kidding. The band has stopped playing their song now, and I can hear McCoy telling the tubas to wait 2 counts.   
But before I can do anything, MacTaggart stops lecturing the cellos and goes to all of us. "Okay, so we all know that the spring symphony event is coming up soon. And I wanted us to play Symphonié, Mitzafinado and Waltz for Mary. But we haven't practiced the Waltz too much, so please take that out."   
As everyone goes to take out sheet music, I get my chance to communicate with Erik. We shouldn't really use our powers inside school, but this is an occasion.   
I press my fingers to my temples again and look straight at him. Suddenly I can see his thoughts straight out in front of me. Erik Lensherr, 16. Hm.   
Now's the time. "Hello." I think. Inside the band room, I see him flinch and knock over his sheet music.   
"Erik, what are you doing?" I hear McCoy ask.   
"Nothing, sir." He says. His voice is strange, but nice at the same time.   
I'm still inside his mind and am looking around for facts about him while I wait for a response. His birthday is in March and he's a mutant indeed.   
"What are you doing? Who are you?" He thinks back at me suddenly. I smile.   
"Look into the other room."   
His head turns to the orchestra room. I wave with my free hand. The pale look on his face somehow manages to get even whiter.   
"Oh."   
"I'm Charles, by the way. You're Erik, right?"   
"It's creepy how you know that."   
"Sorry." Professor MacTaggart is cueing the bass for it's 6 bar solo. "Thanks for that thing with the strings on my viola. Telekinesis is quite fascinating."   
"Only metal stuff really." He tells me. "I didn't know there were any other mutant students."   
"Probably tons." I tell him back. He looks up suddenly and then smirks.   
"I'm probably better than you at playing." He thinks. "Can't believe there are so many orchestra geeks in there."   
"You wanna bet?" He's challenging me. "Next song that goes, we play. Against each other."   
He wonders about it for a few seconds, then answers. "If I sound better, you have to come in here and announce that band is cooler than your dumb orchestra."   
This is getting fun. The bass is just finishing it's solo. "If I sound better, you have to give me your number."   
"Fair."   
I break the connection and look at his face. He's smilingly picking up his clarinet and nodding.   
MacTaggart cues us in and I start on a High B. I keep looking back and forth between my piece and Erik.   
"Sound good?" I ask him.   
"Just you wait, nerd."   
The band picks up and I can hear him playing through the glass. I get louder on the slur between G and A.   
"I'm feeling that embarrassment right now." He thinks. He plays really nicely, I can't believe I never noticed before, and I think I might be losing this bet.   
"Okay, you can do that, but can you beat this?" I go to play a four-noted slur and two notes at once in Tremelo.   
"Yea, but I can do this." He plays a up and down scale right through, which I guess is part of the piece.   
It continues. We both get louder over each other and louder. I get lost in it and start showing off. He does the same. He looks out of breath and I'm getting really hot in here. B. High C. Slur between G, F# and E. Low C. It goes on and on, until the viola solo comes up in the Waltz.   
"Watch this." I tell him, before spiralling off into quarter notes and Vibrato and just keep going. Halfway through, I look back at him and see that he's actually stopped playing to watch me. His blue eyes are wide open and I think that I've won him over.   
The viola solo ends, and we finish the piece shortly after that. I try to hold the Open D for as long as I can. When I finish, I look over at Erik. But he's not there.   
My heart skips a beat when I hear someone walking across the hall. The door to the orchestra room opens, and there he is, tall and red faced and looking quite impressed.   
Without saying a word, he picks up a pen and an empty sheet music paper. He writes something down, then walks right up to me. My heart is beating 10 times faster as he hands me the paper, then leaves as fast as he can. Professor MacTaggart looks stunned.   
"What was that about?" She asks me. But I don't answer, even though the whole orchestra is staring at me. Instead I read what's on the note. 

"813-458-7900. Please call me and teach me how to sound like that.  
\- Erik" 

Raven looks over my shoulder to read as well. "I think you just got yourself a date, Charles."   
And when I look back into the band room, he's sitting back in his spot, and when he catches my eye he winks at me.


End file.
